10 Things To Do With The Kids When It Is Hot!

We went into Federation Square (Melbourne) yesterday to see the Animated kids’ classics at ACMI . The cartoons were very different change of pace for the kids. Felix the cat was a silent cartoon, but seemed to be the favourite amongst the kids. One of the things that I love about Federation Square (Melbourne) is that whenever I go during the school holidays for kids activities, I always end up getting more than what I expected.

We had planned to just see the cartoons and have lunch in the park, but after we had lunch in the park, we went back into a drop-in workshop where the kids made their own animation. They had a choice of making a flip book or zoetrope with little penguins. My little ones all chose to make the flip books which then kept them amused on the train trip home. As we were leaving Federation Square we also came across a street performer who was juggling fire, much to the awe of my eldest son who received juggling balls from Aunty J for Christmas and knows how tricky it is to juggle. Watching this guy kept us enthralled for some time.

The one thing I dislike about Federation Square is how difficult it is to get around with a pram. Thankfully I had my sister with me and we just lifted the pram down some of the stairs to prevent us from having to go so far out of way from where we wanting to go , just to get to a ramp or elevator. Although, I really don’t think I have anything to complain about as it makes me think just how difficult it must be for someone if they are in a wheel chair or have restricted mobility.

Being the massive planning nerd that I am, I frequently check out the Bureau of Meteorology for their 7 day forecast. When I did this morning I was glad that we had gone to Federation Square yesterday as it is going to be extremely hot for the next few days. It started me thinking about what are the best sort of school holiday activities to do when it is hot? I also dearly love a list and came up with 10 things to do on the school holidays when it is hot. This is by no means a comprehensive list, nor even the best 10 things to do when it is hot, so I would love to hear what you get up to when it is hot and then I can make this list a bit more definitive.

(1). Probably the most obvious is to head to the water of some desrciption. We don’t have a beach house or close relatives that do, so we don’t tend to do this one as much as I would probably like, but we did go to Point Leo the other week end and had a great time. When the Surf Life Saving Club run their Nippers program (see the Calendar link on the Point Leo SLSC site for dates) they have a BBQ going where for a few dollars you can get a sausage in bread and a drink, the beach is patrolled, and their are shower and toilet facilities close by.

(2). Make a big cubby house inside and have a picnic lunch in it.

(3). Visit the library. The air conditioning is generally good and it works in a couple of ways for us. It gives the children something to do before we go – I hand the children the library borrowing receipt and a pen and they have to go and find all the books we have to return. We generally have out 20 or so at a time so it can take some time to do this! Then the kids have a great time choosing some new ones when we are there. Often there is school holiday sessions as well, but you do have to book so check out the library’s website ( Boroondara, Yarra Plenty, Yarra, Melbourne, Mildura) and once we get home they can chill out and read the new stuff.

(4). Cook together, something which of course does not require heat. My kids love chocolate balls and they can actually make them by themselves now. I just have to be prepared to clean up a large mess though. Slices, jelly, squeeze oranges and make fruit juice ice blocks for later.

(5). Make Lego stuff (or like product) together. It is amazing how long the kids will make stuff for. We generally end up with a bit of a theme going amongst us, like space craft, cars, or houses. We then put them up on display for a while on a shelf .

(6). Write a joint story. You might remember this one from school. Someone starts of the story and then you take turns at adding a sentence until you have put together a funny little story. We generally start this by handwriting first, then I let the kids publish the work on the computer, where they can then add pictures.

(7). Have a water bomb fight. You can pick up water bomb balloons at the supermarket these days that come with a little squirter bottle to fill the balloons up with. Just save some bath water from the night before and use that to fill them up. You can also use a funnel and jug as that can be easier for the little ones. It is fun to build up a stash of 10-15 each and then declare “war” and run around the backyard and get wet!

(8). Indoor hide and seek – I always tire of this game well before the kids do.

(9). Musical statues – as above.

(10). Go through the family photo albums. My kids love looking at themselves and hearing the stories behind the photos.

As you can probably tell, I try to keep to a budget, so I like school holiday activities that are free or are cheap! Love to hear what ideas you have to stay sane in the heat.

What brilliant ideas!As its going to be super hot tomorrow … I might try some of yours out.

Here’s a couple of things my 4 year old and 20 month old like to do on these kind of days:

* Play shop – the kids raid the pantry of tinned or boxed food, set it up as a shop in their bedroom, they sit behind their play cash register with pretend money. The customer (AKA Mummy) comes along and purchases the items. They love role playing – giving me their best sales pitch, counting out money and putting my groceries in eco friendly bags (of course!)

* On the same vein as above – we play “Post Office”. My 4 year old loves writing letters to his mates which mainly consists of scribbles with his name written on the bottom of the page,folding them, stuffing the letters into envelopes (and we do get thru quite a lot of those so we buy cheap ones at the reject shop). He likes to put stickers on as stamps. Again,lots of role playing etc.

* My potatoes and other fruit and veg also suffer in this kind of heat so when they are past its best, we chop them in half and apply paint on them to do “fruit and veg prints”.

Anyway, these are just some of the stuff we get up to.

The kids also love hide and seek and yes, I also get bored of it before they do too! “Gosh, you trickster you … hiding in the bath again!”

Thanks for the feedback and ideas. I had completely forgotten about how much kids love envelopes and stamps etc. Will pick up some supplies for those this week. Nor have I tried the vegie prints. I appreciate you taking the time to share – thanks a lot!

Great site Planning Queen. There is an interesting email newsletter from WhiteHat that outlines activities in Victoria. Even if you don’t do the activities the newsletter is an informative and entertaining read. Email (newsletter@whitehat.com.au)

Fruit ice blocks in our house – the kids love to help choose which fruit and add to the mix. We do nth melb toddler pool in the mornings of the hot days – it has shades over the shallow pools and is really well set up for young kids. Early bath or shower with chilly water is a winner with us too.

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Nicole Avery is a Melbourne mum to five beautiful kids aged 17 to 7. Nic is slightly addicted to spreadsheets, tea, running, CrossFit. Her goal for 2016 is to create space in her life for creativity and calm. Read More…